&
$9 05390!
Open 7 days a week and all day at weekends + Lunch Daily set lunch menu Dinner A [ll rurtc e'~ fixed price menus l)uil)"lisli menu Two Course Lunch £8.50 Dinner Two Courses £15 Pre/ Post Theatre Offers available see website for details www.1esept.co.uk
Separate room available for Private Parties
5 Hunter Square, Royal Mile Edinburgh, EH1 I QW
0131 225 5428
104 THE LIST 13—27 Apr 2006
EAT&DRINK
. . . l. . l' I . a \‘I ‘-—‘ \‘\ m.
Roll out the barrel
Barry Shelby goes to Glasgow Green, where he meets the first UK small brewer to make authentic German lagers.
est Beer is the real deal.
Brewed below the gigantic
new West Beer (‘ompany bar and restaurant on Glasgow Green. a clear. clean Helles lager and a refreshing Hefe Wei/.en are the first two products. The former is what you'd typically get in Munich - equal to a real blue label Lowenbriiu — while the Bavarian-style wheat beer has the trademark cloudiness. as well as hints of spices and citrus.
While it may be tempting to call the West Beer Company a micro- brewery. that is an injustice to the operation. ()wners Petra and Gordon Wetzel-Stewart are new to the business but are by no means amateurs. Gordon and brewing colleague David McKenzie have qualifications from the esteemed Siebel brewing academy. That meant training in Bamburg. Gennany — the
THE SPACE IS A BIT AUSTERE. BUT THAT'S HOW A BIER HALLE SHOULD BE
default beer capital of the world sitting exams in Munich and attending classes at the lingland- language cainpus in Chicago. What they’xe come away with is the llaryard MBA of brewing.
The firm can produce a million and a half litres per year. Or. to ptit it another way. 3000 pints of beer in one live-hour brewing cycle Using their state of the art equipment imported from (iermany and designed specifically for their brewery. While of course it‘s sold in the bar. the goal is to have it in public houses across Scotland. too.
Authentic. (ierman lager freshly brewed in Scotland. ‘.\'o one else in the l'K is doing this.‘ says (iot'don. For the sake of authenticity. real (not dried) yeast is Used while the barley and hops are imported from (iermany (or the (‘lech Republic when they produce a l’ilsner). ‘You have to go to the source.~ he adds. To use linglish hops would be the same as trying to make Spanish Rijoa using grapes grown in Brittany.
The bier halle aims to feel genuine. too. Richly stained birch and beech panelling runs along the walls of the sprawling post-industrial space. Sturdy tables of maple (including a few miniature ones for children) sit atop original hard wood floors. with the occasional square of concrete. hinting at spots where the carpet thread winding machinery once sat. Although it‘s full of light due to banks of windows. the massive space is a bit austere. But surely that‘s how a bier halle should be.
Food is served from Want to 9.30pm. and it too is intended to recreate Bavarian-style cuisine. hearty fare from bratwurst with sauerkraut to sauerbraten —- braised roast beef with red cabbage and potato dumplings on the side. Another typical dish is schnit/cl. a flattened cut of veal breaded and fried till crispy. SCI'VL‘tl with a warm potato salad laced with mustard. lior dessett. slices of a flaky apfelstrudel are served with a choice of ice- cream. whipped cream or custard. Prices are moderate: staners under £4 and tnain courses mostly under £8.
The traditional heart of the city‘s long brewing history is less than a mile away at Tennent‘s Wellpark facility. but West Brewing Company may be rewriting the history.
West Brewing Company, Binnie Place, Glasgow Green, Glasgow, 0141 550 0135. Open Mon-Thu 10am—1 1pm, Fri & Sat 10am—midnight and Sun 1 1am -1 1 pm.
News to nibble on . . .
I The List doesn't always know how influential it can be. Shortly after last year's Eating & Drinking Guide was published, a restaurateur whose establishment was featured on one of our Hit Lists - signalling that it's among the best in Edinburgh and Glasgow - phoned the office, to say thanks, one might assume. But no, instead he had called to complain because his restaurant had been over-run with customers and he attributed it directly to our recommendation. He said he should have been warned in advance.
Far be it for us not to respond. While we don't want to give the game away completely, below is a list of just a few (but definitely not all) of those restaurants, cafés, bistros and bars that will be on Hit Lists in our new Eating & Drinking Guide, published with the next edition of The List on Wednesday 26 April. Don't say we didn't warn you.
GLASGOW
Aziza Cafe Bazaar Balbir's
Bar Gandolti
Chinaski's
Charcoals
Dine
Dragon-i
Kokuryo
Michael Caines @ ABode Mr Singh's West End Balti House
The Sisters Kelvingrove [pictured above]
Thai Orchid
Urban Grill
Village Curry House
EDINBURGH Calistoga Frankie's
La Concha Hanedan lglu Namaste New Bell Number One The Outsider Roti
Spoon
Time 4 Thai Traverse Urban Angel